Maybe I'm alone here but I've always been terrified of picnic food. In particular, I'm talking about the bland American potato salad and frightening macaroni salad (sometimes combined into one dish) that often adorned the summertime tables of my youth. Yuck.
You see, my real aversion was to mayonnaise. I never really understood why anyone would eat that white, flavorless, gelatinous glop. I could handle a bit of tangy miracle whip (gross, I now know) on a tuna sandwich or a BLT heavy on the B, but something about store-bought mayo simply made my stomach turn.
So imagine my surprise when I discovered you can make your own mayonnaise, and not only that, but homemade mayo is shockingly delicious! Suddenly a whole new world opened up for me: creamy dips, dressings, and aoili grace my table, and even American potato salad has been forgiven for its earlier Hellmann's indiscretions.
Adorned with fresh garlic scapes if you can find them (or regular garlic will do), rosemary from the garden, and a hint of smoky paprika – this ain't the American potato salad of the 1980's. Picnickers and BBQ go-ers everywhere rejoice!
American potato salad ingredients
For the mayo
- 2 eggs, preferably from pasture-raised hens
- 1 T. seedy Dijon mustard
- 2 T. lemon juice
- 1 T. fresh whey, optional
- 3/4 cup refined coconut oil (does not taste like coconut) – get refined coconut oil here
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil – I love this organic olive oil from California
- sea salt to taste – my favorite Celtic sea salt
For the potato salad
- about 1 cup of mayonnaise from above (more or less to your taste)
- 4 pounds new potatoes (golf ball sized)
- 6 garlic scapes or 3 cloves garlic
- 4 T. fresh rosemary
- 1 tsp. smoked paprika
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
How make American potato salad
- Allow the eggs to come to room temperature by placing in a bowl of room temperature water.
- Place the s-blade on your food processor and use a lid that has a drip hole on the top.
- Place potatoes in a large sauce pan, cover with filtered water, and add a generous pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat slightly. Cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain, cool and chop into quarters. Place in a medium bowl.
- While the potatoes are cooking, place 1 whole egg and 1 egg yolk in the food processor. Add Dijon mustard, lemon juice, and optional whey. Add the lid and pulse for a few seconds until well combined.
- If your coconut oil is solid, melt in a small saucepan and cool to body temperature. Add olive oil.
- Turn on the food processor, and using a spoon, drizzle the oil mixture into the food processor drop by drop. Continue like this until at least half of the oil is added. Then you can allow the oil to pour in through the drizzle spout. When all the oil is added, add sea salt to taste.
- Trim off any tough ends, stringy pieces, or yellowed flower tips from the garlic scapes. Mince the garlic scapes or garlic (if you don't have scapes). Add to the food processor with rosemary and smoked paprika. Pulse until well combined.
- Add about 1 cup of this mayonnaise mixture to the cooled and quartered potatoes. Season with sea salt and fresh ground pepper. Serve immediately or refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to combine.
5 years ago we hosted fourth of July for our friends and family. I usually ask around to see what food intolerances are and because there were so many friends far flung from their family I also asked if there was anything people needed to feel like they were home. I was expecting hot dogs, hamburgers, beer — but no one cared about anything but the potato salad and everyone had very strong feelings! Olive oil instead of mayo, a particular Japanese mayo, with onion, without, must have boiled hazelnuts (thanks, German grandmother!), must have mustard, eggs, etc. How was I going to make so many different potato salads? So we now have a potato salad bar! Everyone brings some kind of topping that they think would be perfect + one that is more of a gamble. We make buckets of potatoes (and now sweet potatoes & cauliflower as notato options) and set out olive oil, a homemade mayonnaise like you have above, and an egg free almond based almond-garlic aioli. Everything else is set out in muffin tins for a buffet. People go through multiple times and end up trying all kinds of new things — not just the one from “home” but also something new. Win! I love my bacony pickle potato salads with hazelnuts and mustard but now I also like kimchi potato salads, feta & olive potato salads, curried sweet potato salads with apricots and almonds, etc.
And still no one has ever brought garlic scapes! Hopefully I’ll remember this combination for next year, because it sounds delicious. (And I know potato salads!)
I love this idea!
Hi – I hope you don’t mind my messaging you, I just came across your site via pinterest (you kindly pinned my Raspberry Ripple Ica Cream) and I thought you might be interested in a salad I have just blogged called ‘Dr Feel Good’ Have a great day! : Sarah From the Kitchen
Hi there, so is there a way to make a more liquid mayo? This recipie is good, but I find that the consistency is rock hard after refrigeration. Maybe I could use a different oil combination? Or perhaps I could whip some air into the hard mayo to make it creamy?
Hi Amy – Thanks for your comment. Since the coconut oil hardens at cool temperatures, I would leave it out to bring it back to room temperature before using. Hope that helps!
Delicious! Just happened to get 6 garlic scapes in my CSA box…I knew exactly how I was going to use them since I filed away your recipe last year. Can’t wait to share it at our family cookout tomorrow! 🙂
I have some problems with the mayo phobia. I am lucky enough to live two towns over from a company that manufactures real no preservatives added mayonnaise and I have to say that it is amazing! The issue with it going bad on picnics has nothing to do with the mayo it self but the onions added to the potato or egg, ham or macaroni salad. If it will be refrigerated for some time do not add onions. As for spicing it up I use a spicy mustard and some fresh herbs for the garden. Thanks for posting.